The true life of Billy the Kid

HAPPY HOURS BROTHERHOOD REPRINT NO.
Copyright, 1945, by J. C. Dykes
limited to 1000 copies

THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND

"Time dime the memory." An analysis of the tales, poems, songs and plays written about
William H. Bonney, "Billy the Kid," Southwestern desperado, since he was killed by Sheriff
Pat Garrett of Lincoln Co., New Mexico, on July 14, 1881 reveals the truth of the old saying.

A great many writers have added their bit to the legend of Billy. Several of them, including
Garrett, Siringo, Poe, Coe and Otero were personally acquainted with Billy or the New Mexico
of his day but a majority wrote from "here-say" or the tall tales of the old-timers. While
the picture of the cold-blooded killer was still crystal clear to a few of the narrators, a
majority seemed set on glamouring the Kid. To this day the controversy'rages—he was brave,
he was a coward, he was cool and daring, he was merely cunning, he was a "sure-thing killer,"
he killed only as a feudist or $or vengeance, he was a horse and cattle thief, he was only a
tool of the big cattlemen who really profited from his'thefts, he killed twenty-one men—one
for each year of his life—not including Mexicans and Indians; he kille d only 12 men,not one
of whom was a native-born New Mexican. So the songs and stories sayl

Pat Garrett published his "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid" less than a"year after
he killed Billy and it has long been regarded as the first of the Billy the Kid narratives.
However, it was Charlie Siringo's "A Texas Cowboy; or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of
a Spanish Pony," first published in 1885, that assured Billy a place of notoriety among South¬
western outlaws. A million copies were sold during the author's lifetime. Siringo, as a
representative of Texas cattlemen, was in New Mexico in 1880 to recover stock stolen in the
Panhandle by Billy the Kid and his gang. He loaned some of his "warriors" to Garrett and
they were with Pat when he captured the Kid in December 1880 and, therefore, had some person-

Garrett's book, published at Santa Fe, New’Mexico an^ never widely circulated.

The book credited to Garrett was actually written by Ash Upson, pioneer New Mexico news¬
paper man, as stated in Wm. A. Keleher's excellent "The Fabulous Frontier," published this
year. The first edition of Pat Garrett's book has long been eagerly sought by collectors in
the Southwest as has the first edition of Siringo's "The Texas Cowboy." Still rarer and al¬
most unknown is the first complete narrative of the life of Billy. It was on thousands of
news stands within six weeks of the date on which Pat Garrett killed Billy as No. 451 in .

Frank Tousey's "The Five Cent Wide Awake Library." It was dated August 29, 1881 and the
copvright copies deposited in the Library of Congress were stamped and dated September 7,

1881. The copyright copies of the Garrett book were deposited on April 17, 1882. Garrett,
in his introduction, claimed that at least three "yellow-covered cheap novels" containing
false statements had been foisted upon the public. While Wide Awake No. 451 was issued with
a white title cover with a black line illustration, it was doubtlessly one of the three
"yellow-covered cheap novels" referred to by Garrett. The term "yellow-back," based on the
orange wraps used on the original series, of Beadle's Dime Novels, was commonly used to de¬
note all nickel and dime novels regardless of the color of the covers.

It seems clear that "The True Life of Billy the Kid" by Don. Jemado, as published by
Tousey, antedates the Garrett book by some months. (Don Jemado is one of the pseudonyms of
Illion Constellano according to W. C. Miller in his booklet "Dime Novel Authors.") You will
not find it included as No. 451 in the lists of previous issues that appeared on the back
wraps of the later issues of the Wide Awake Library. In 1885 the Postmaster General insti¬
tuted a clean-up campaign that resulted in Tousey eliminating all outlaw stories in the
series in order to hold his "second-class matter" mailing privileges. He substituted stories
that did not "tend’ to incite murder" for the 66 outlaw stories, including No. 451, in the
series. Tile mystery of th£ substituted issues was cleared up by Ralph P. Smith in his arti¬
cle "Barred by the Post Office," Dime Novel Round-Up, October 1944. Probably Tousey made
only one issue of the original No. 451 and while it is certain that some thousands of copies
were printed, they, like most of the other copies of the Dime Novels of the period, have sim-

Despite some
Kid narratives—th

e beginning of the legend—should,

appropriate that the first
Id, like the scarce

of the Billy the

-the beginning

THE TRUE LIFE OF BILLY THE KID.

and a brother still

A land that is stranger to

tion, and where the strong arm of the law seldom reaches
its victim, where might is right, can not do otherwise than
breed hosts of such characters, as those whose biography

Billy the Kid’s true name was William McCarthy. He
was born in the State of New York (some have located his
birthplace as the City of New York, but this is doubtless a

When Billy was a very small boy, his father emigrated to
the Territory of New Mexico, and settled his family, in
Silver City, Grant County. There ’ ' ‘

in the family, two sons and a da
youngest of the three. He has a i
living in the Territory.

The brother, whose name is John McCarthy, is £
and regarded by all who know him as an honest, fair
man. His sister has married a respectable miner , mu m
fact Billy seems to be the only black sheep in the entire

His father was poor, and the entire family were com¬
pelled to “put their shoulders to the wheel,” to assist in
making a living. Billy was young and exceedingly small
for his age, so it wa3 very difficult to find anything for him
to do. He had a passion for horses, and soon became one
of the best riders in all the country. He readily found
employment in assisting the herders, or cow boys as they
are called, in herdmg

ognome
ihild, wi
ind fair

-- — _ — .^ys who gave the lad- r — -

cognomen of Billy the Kid. Billy was a delicate- looking
child, with a thin pale face, slender frame, light blue eyes,

that finally brought him to ruin and death.

The rough men frequently furnished the lad with liquor.
They thought it fine sport to see the “Kid on a high.”
Billy’s father died when the boy was thirteen years of age,

Shortly after her marriage she moved to Georgetown, New
Mexico, jvhere she still
The lad never lived wii

rs of age, he foi

lver City, he met an acquaint
)in Texas, who was in the same condition.

“ What shall we do ?” asked the Kid.

“ Dun no,” answered Tom, who, though of Irish dei
d none of the brogue about him. ' “ Are ye flat br<

“Go in, th.

“Joe Taylor, who keeps the store here, has loti
!e keeps it in the drawer in his Store. Quien sal
“You bet, Billy, I’ll go yer halvers.”

The compact was made, and as thoroughly nndc
they had spent weeks- in concocting the plan.
Consequently that night, provided with tools, the young
arglars entered the door of the store by cutting the lock

Taylor, whoUept m the rear room, was aroused by the noise.

* u — 1 seized the Kid by the throat. O’Fallaher made

i. A complaint was at once preferred against
ho lodged in jail.

ycry small for his age, and soon won the sym-
the jailer’s wife, and. more especially of his
the beautiful, dark-eyed Nettie,
ted the little fellow in his confinement, and as she
_5 pale cheeks growing paler day by day it was no

“Are yoi
brought his
“I am,”l
Would yc
I would,"

! you lonely here, Bi
his dinner to his cc

he answered, “ but, Nettie, there is something

1 ‘ Liberty. Confinement ii

® given many cri

--_ to prey upon soci _

an was arranged, and put into execution, by which

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